Taxonomy of meanings for 由:　　

Additional information about 由

說文解字:

Criteria
• FROM
  

  1. Yóu 由 focusses on the coming out from, and the reference is primarily to a place, but can also be to cause.

  2. Zì 自 focusses on initiation, and the reference is primarily to a time, but can also be to a place, and to the arrangement of an abstract series.

  3. Cóng 從 derives its meaning from "to follow", and the reference is primarily to a place, but it can also be to an origin or cause, much more rarely to a time.

  4. Yú 於 basically means "in relation to", and one of the specific meanings is "in separative relation to, from".

  5. Hū 乎 basically means "in relation to", and one of its rarer specific meanings is "in separative relation to, from".

  6. Dào 道 "by way of" may refer literally to a direction, but it may also refer more abstractly to a means. See USE.

• BEAUTIFUL
  

  [ABSOLUTE/GRADED]

  [ACOUSTIC/VISUAL]

  [ARTIFICIAL/NATURAL]

  [[COMMON/RARE]]

  [ELEVATED/VULGAR]

  [GENERAL/SPECIFIC]

  [HUMAN/NON-HUMAN]

  [POETIC/PROSAIC]

  1. The general word is měi 美 "handsome and admirable" (ant. è 惡 "ugly") which refers to anything concrete or abstract which is attractive or handsome in a dignified way, and the word often retains its primary culinary sense of "tasty".

  [GENERAL], [GRADED]; [[COMMON]]

  2. Lì 麗 (ant. sù 素 "unaodorned") is often restricted to physical objects, prototypically to clothes, and emphasises their balanced symmetric beauty, occasionally also - by analogy - the well-aligned symmetric beauty of mountains.

  [ELEVATED], [NON-HUMAN], [VISUAL!]

  3. Wén 文 (ant. zhì 質 "merely material") emphasises cultivated external as well as internal elegance as well as traditionalism.

  [ARTIFICIAL], [ELEVATED], [NON-HUMAN], [VISUAL!]

  4. Yǎ 雅 (ant. sú 俗 "vulgar") emphasises primarily external elevated elegance.

  [ACOUSTIC!], [ARTIFICIAL], [ELEVATED+], [NON-HUMAN]

  5. Hǎo 好 "comely, handsome" (ant. chǒu 醜 "ugly") refers indiscriminately to men and women, but the word is sometimes more general and even abstract in application and refers to attractive words or attractive moral qualities.

  [HUMAN!], [NATURAL], [VISUAL]

  6. Xiù 秀 "of vigorous and imposing beauty" focusses on flourishing and flamboyant beauty in analogy with that of flowers.

  [ELEVATED], [NATURAL], [NON-HUMAN], [POETIC], [VISUAL]; [[RARE]]

  7. Huá 華 "of striking and colourful beauty" (ant. sú 俗 "vulgar") focusses on flourishing and flamboyant superficial or only apparent beauty, on the analogy analogy with that of flowers.

  [ARTIFICIAL], [ELEVATED], NON-HUMAN], [SUPERFICIAL], [VISUAL]

  8. Zhuàng 壯 "stately" (ant. ruò 弱 "weak and unsightly") is virile beauty associated with strength and vigour. See STRONG

  [NATURAL], [MARGINAL], [POETIC]; [[RARE]]

  9. Jiā 佳 "of outstanding beauty" (NB: liè 劣 "unremarkable" is the ant. of jiā 佳 "outstanding", and not in the meaning of "outstandingly beautiful") emphasises comparative beauty compared to others in the same group.

  [GRADED], [ELEVATED], [NATURAL], [POETIC]

  10. Dū 都 "urbane and exquisitely beautiful" (ant. bì 鄙 "rustic and inelegant") is a highly poetic word that can only be used in elevated prose.

  [ARCHAIC], [ELEVATED], [POETIC], [VISUAL]; [[RARE]]

  11. Yán 妍 "attractive and exquisite (of humans as well as human products)" (ant. chì 蚩 "unattractive") refers to elaborate beauty. See SEXY.

  [ARCHAIC], [ELEVATED], [HUMAN], [POETIC]; [[RARE]]

  12. Xiū 脩 / 修 "refined moral beauty" refers to moral as well as physical beauty, thus coming close the Greek kalokagathia, but never approaching the latter in importance as a cultural keyword.

  <div>[ELEVATED], [ARTIFICIAL]; [[RARE]]</div><div><br></div><div>吳蓬，東方審美詞彙集萃，上海文藝出版社，2002 lists the following rough definitions of a variety of terms of aesthetic appreciation by the artist and scholar Wu Peng. Many of these terms express conventional appreciative flattery only. This list does provide one not particularly well-known artist's subjective readings of some basic terms of traditional Chinese aesthetic approbation.</div><div>勃：富有生机之突起。<br>苍：浓的，毛的，老练的。<br>沉：沉着不浮，有重量感。<br>冲：调成和淡之意向。<br>饬：整顿。<br>粗：大而不笨者。<br>淳：清，往往易薄，然而淳是清中滋润之厚。<br>醇：与淳略同，这醇是提炼后的滋润之厚。<br>绰：与"约"字合用，即舒而不纵之意。<br>澹：平静而有幽淡之趣。<br>淡：与浓艳相对。<br>宕：放荡不拘。<br>跌：往往与"宕"字合用，即是起伏明显之状。<br>端：方正而不出偏，有稳实感。<br>敦：很实在的，结实的厚。<br>繁：众而密，有生气。<br>方：与平正同义。<br>丰：饱满而充足。<br>风：审美中之"风"指的是一种气韵格调。<br>飞：大幅度的流动。<br>刚：属于阳性的，有正力的，与柔软相对。</div><div>高：俯视一切的、超然得不一般。<br>工：规矩，不潦草。<br>孤：自我独立。<br>古：旧气，更有历史的抗怀千载之迹象。<br>骨：内在的架子。<br>犷：是跟"雄悍"接近，在粗中发展开来。<br>瑰：不单调的美。<br>乖：不和顺。<br>憨：近于拙朴而敦实。<br>酣：厚润四溢。<br>豪：激动向上之貌，有气魄。<br>宏：大而有气度。<br>厚：有沉积的饱和。<br>华：明亮而艳丽。<br>环：长久圆融之境。<br>荒：与"枯简"接近，不修饰。<br>豁：与开朗接近，然比开朗明显。<br>恢：宽广有余。<br>浑：团然一气之象，有朦胧感。<br>简：经过一番整修的减少。<br>娇：美得可爱。<br>警：审美中用此警字，往往指敏锐、颖达。<br></div><div>劲：能察觉的力。<br>精：很到位。<br>隽：精致而具内涵之美。<br>娟：秀而婉丽。<br>崛：高起而突出。<br>俊：人材杰曲之美。<br>峻：山高而陡。在书画中是浓而锋利之用笔。<br>空：有灵气之空白。<br>枯：干而毛，生的萎缩，然亦是力的显露。<br>宽：大度而畅朗。<br>旷：广阔而空灵。<br>辣：是枯毛爽直的老笔触。<br>朗：明亮而豁然。<br>琅：圆而光润。<br>伦：是同类之意，带有文明意念。<br>冷：跟"淡"与"静”接近，与浓烈相对。<br>炼：精到而有功力。<br>淋：与"漓”往往合用，是无拘束的洒落。<br>流：明显的动感。<br>迈：阔而放的超势。<br>莽：宽广而繁密的，朴直奔放的。<br>袤：与"古"字合用，即悠长久远之趣。<br>茂：有生气的繁密。<br>媚：柔美之趣。<br>宓：安而静。<br>明：清晰有亮度。<br>凝：浓重而不流动。<br>懦：毫无火气之柔软。<br>平：一般的，接近于稳。<br>朴：原始状态，形象较准。<br>嫖：与"姚"字合用，即动疾之状，而有气势。<br>奇：不一般。<br>气：生发的，迎面直扑而来的感觉。<br>清：是混的相对。其间透出一股朗气。<br>峭：山之直而险，在书画中是露锋的侧锋用笔，有明显露<br>尖状态。文章中之峭，是意气直逼。<br>遒：婉转有致，内力强劲。<br>虬：与遒类似，但动感较强，弯曲而有力度。<br>意：诚实谨慎。<br>儒：代表文人之书卷气。<br>洒：散落无拘束。<br>赡：富有与丰实。若与"疏”、"逸”组合即成"澹”或"安"之义。</div><div>骚：审美中之骚字，可引伸为风骚至风流感。<br>韶：美丽有光泽。<br>涩：在不爽快的进程中，流露出内力之美。<br>深：不是浮面的。<br>神：精与气合。高端的。<br>生：不成熟，但比成熟有味。<br>肆：任意放纵。<br>松：松是灵活自然，是一切技巧之本要。<br>瘦：与粗笨相对，在审美中的"瘦"，是指细长而精练。<br>疏：一种稀少秀朗之美。<br>肃：有立即静穆下来之势。<br>率：与潦草随便有别，爽快而直接。<br>邃：深远而悠久。<br>阅：通达之意。<br>给：与"宕"合用，是安详舒放之趣。<br>天:很自然，一片天箱之"天"。<br>恬：安静而坦然。<br>挺：直而有生气。<br>婉：柔和而曲折。<br>温：是一种暖调与缓和的综合。</div><div>巍：往往与"峨"合用，是高大厚实之趣。<br>洗：与"炼”合用，即是"精炼"之意，凡物之洁出于洗。<br>犀：与"利"字合用，即坚利。<br>熙：光明，和乐。<br>细：指细而不纤。<br>娴：文静而雅致。<br>闲：一种高雅的自由。<br>萧：疏少有致。<br>潇：散朗而润泽。<br>馨：很醇厚的香气。<br>篁："篁古”是悠远辽阔之意。<br>雄：强大，有力度，有霸气。<br>秀：灵巧的，有生气的，美好的显露。<br>虚：表象空，但并非真空。<br>雅：文气而不俗。<br>妍：鲜美而柔性。<br>严：认真，不马虎。<br>淹：一种浸沉与精深明达之境。<br>野：超脱、不规范。<br>冶：经过一番精致修饰。<br>逸：悠闲的起伏。</div><div>意：精神倾向。<br>莹：透明而幽亮。<br>雍：往往与“容"字合用，有和顺之貌。<br>幽：静而深。<br>腴：肥润而饱和。<br>郁：厚积而有生气。<br>纤：与"迥"字合用，即弯环回绕之趣。<br>遹：与"瑰"字合用，即纤迥美丽之趣。<br>渊：往往与"懿"合用，是深润而悠美之趣。<br>圆：接近于饱满润滑。<br>蕴：与"藉"合用，即内涵丰富。<br>韵：一种余味不尽之趣。<br>恣：放纵的，无拘束的。<br>滋：湿润感。<br>自：出于本性的流露。<br>质：本体的，实在的。<br>纵：放逸无拘之状。<br>拙：接近朴，形不准。<br>庄：端正之貌。<br>卓：与“荤"合用，是突出明显之状。<br></div><div><br></div><br>

• BECAUSE
  

  Giving reasons for a statements made, by a single appended clause giving an explanation, motivation, justification, or demonstration, turns out to be not as common as one might have thought. Yīnwéi 因為 "because" is not classical Chinese. "Brutus killed Caesar because he hated him" would become in classical Chinese "Brutus hated Caesar and accordingly/therefore he killed him." The current conceptual fields are THEREFORE and "in order to" under INTEND. The only word that "feels" anything like the English "because" is the final particle yě 也 "this was because, this is because".

  1. The standard word is yǐ 以 "by reason of" which can refer to objective causes as well as subjective motivation, but never logical reasoning, and the reason adduced by this word may even be a pretext.

  [GENERAL]; [[vt+N.adV, vt+N.postV]]

  2. Yīn 因 "on the basis of" typically refers to the basis on which something is done, and sometimes to some kind of deliberate and strategic accommodation to objective conditions.

  [[vtadV]]

  3. Yóu 由 "be because of" emphasises the "wherefrom" of something, the objective reason from which something flows. It is rare in early texts meaning "be because", but became common at later stages of the language.

  [OBJECTIVE]; [[RARE]], [[vtadV]]

  4. Wéi 為 sometimes introduces a reason for something that is then introduced by gù 故 "therefore" or by yīn 因 "therefore".

  [OBJECTIVE]; [vt+N.postS]

  5. Sentence-final yě 也 often marks because-clauses, and the reason given is rarely psychological, sometimes objective, quite often logical: S 也 meaning "it is/was because of S".

  [[ppostS]]

  6. Wéi 為 sometimes introduces a reason for something that is then introduced by gù 故 "therefore" or by yīn 因 "therefore".

• ALSO
  

  [OBJECT-SCOPE/PREDICATE-SCOPE/SUBJECT-SCOPE]

  [ADDITIVE/ADVERSATIVE]

  1. Yòu 又 which focusses on the predicate "(THE SUBJECT) moreover also (PREDICATES)".

  [PREDICATE-SCOPE]

  2. Yì 亦 which focusses on the subject "also (THE SUBJECT) likewise (PREDICATES)".

  [SUBJECT-SCOPE]

  3. Qiě 且 focusses on the whole sentence or the whole predicate and indicates that "also (SENTENCE2) (IN ADDITION TO SENTENCE 1) is/was true" or that "also VERB PHRASE 2 IN ADDITON TO VERB PHRASE 1 applies".

  [SENTENCE-SCOPE]

  4. Yóu 猶／由 "still, also" typically has an adversative nuance.

  [ADVERSATIVE]

• THEREFORE
  

  1. 故 is by far the most general Chinese word for THEREFORE, and in the interpretation of the word it is always important to find the semantic scope of the word, i.e. the "reason" or "cause" the particle refers back to. [It is important to distinguish between the pregnant use of 故 THEREFORE from the "bleached" use of 故 THUS "along these lines".　

  2. 是故 is the most common compound word in this synonym group (for which 故 alone may be regarded to be a short form). But 是故 rarely has "bleached" uses and must generally refer to either subjective motivation or objective causation.

  3. 是以 "because of this" almost as common, and seems to me more common as indicating a subjective cause than a concrete causal relation.

  4. 然則 "given this, then" is argumentative and limited to abstract discussion contexts.2. 是以 is also frequent but the word seems to refer to subjective motivations and purposes in especially many important cases.

  5.以此觀之 and 由是觀之 "viewed against this background" are explicitly theoretical in an almost didactic mode.

  6. 故曰 "therefore it is said" typically refers to a helpful relevant and explanatory quotation, often independently known, but it can also refer to the author's expressed opinion elsewhere in the context, and to an emphatic conclusion drawn in an argument.

• CONFORM
  

  1. Perhaps the most general and the most current word describing conformity to a norm is shùn 順 (ant. nì 逆 "go against").

  2. Yóu 由 refers to conformity construed as a matter of taking something as one's starting point or point of orientation.

  3. Dào 道 refers to conformity construed as a matter of taking one's model to define the way of doing things for one.

  4. Yǐ 以 refers to conformity construed as a matter of availing oneself of something as an instrument or guideline.

  5. Yīn 因 refers to conformity construed as a matter of adapting to pre-existing models or rules.

  6. Yuán 緣 refers to conformity construed as a matter of following something attentively in all details as a guideline.

  7. Shǒu 守 refers to conformity construed as a matter of guarding a precedent or a tradition.

  8. Zhōu 周 and hé 合 (all ant. fǎn 反 "go against the model") refer to complete all-round conformity construed as overall identification with a model.

  9. Chèn 稱 refers to conformity construed as a matter of balancing one's actions against a standard.

  10. Yìng 應 and

  shì 適 refer to conformity construed as a matter of responding adequately to given facts.

  12. Cóng 從 and suí 隨 refer to conformity construed as a matter of following a lead.

  12. Tīng 聽 refers specifically to a superior acting in conformity with his inferior's suggestions.

• CAUSE
  

  1. The general word primarily for something further back in time causing something later in time, but also applied to logical grounds of any kind is gù 故, and the image is that of a solid background against which something is happening. Both subjective reasons and objective causes are referred to by this word.

  2. Yīn 因 is what an animate or inanimate agent bases himself on in order to develop or act, and the image is that of leaning on it.

  3. Yóu 由 and zì 自 are only occasionally nominalised and metaphorically construe the ground as something from which the consequence "flows", and the image is that of a source from which an action or a process flows.

  4. Yǐ 以 is only occasionally nominalised and construes the grounds as something used by the consequence in order for it to be established, and the image is of the use a subject makes, in the course of some action, of something else.

  5. Yuán 緣 is construed as grounds one uses as a guideline, and yuán 緣 always indicates grounds used by a person, and the image is of a guideline one follows in action.

  6. Jī 機 is an objective cause construed metaphorically as a triggering mechanism for what is caused, and the image is of a mechanism triggering an event or an action.

Word relations
• Contrast: (CONFORM)以/CONFORM Yǐ 以 refers to conformity construed as a matter of availing oneself of something as an instrument or guideline. 1 Attribution
• Contrast: (CONFORM)從/FOLLOW The dominant current word for moving along behind someone or something else, both in concrete and in abstract senses, is cóng 從 (ant. bèi 背 "be in opposition against").
• Contrast: (CONFORM)知/UNDERSTAND The standard current and word for understanding something and knowing how to do something is zhī 知 (ant. mèi 昧 "not have the foggiest idea") 1 Attribution
• Contrast: (CONFORM)行/ACT The current general word for any deliberate action one may be held morally and/or administratively responsible for is xíng 行 (ant. zhǐ 止 "decide not to take action"). The nominal entries have the old reading xìng. [COMMENDATORY!], [GENERAL], [HABITUAL], [RESPONSIBLE] 1 Attribution
• Synon: (CONFORM)從/CONFORM Cóng 從 and suí 隨 refer to conformity construed as a matter of following a lead.
• Synon: (FROM)發/ISSUE
• Synon: (FROM)階/RELY ON
• Oppos: (FROM)尾/TAIL The general word for a tail of any animal, including birds, is wěi 尾. 1 Attribution